Turkey Seeks to Assert Erdogan’s Power Over Contested Waters

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party is seeking to give him the power to declare an exclusive economic zone extending as far as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from Turkey’s coast, according to people familiar with the matter.

The party is drafting legislation that would authorize Erdogan to claim Turkish rights over fishing, mining and drilling, as well as to establish marine parks, including in contested waters in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean seas, where European Union members Greece and Cyprus have overlapping claims.